Ready and waiting.
Where Tanner Fritz begins his 2017-2018 pro hockey season remains to be seen, but if the 26-year-old had it his way, it’d be with the NHL’s New York Islanders.
This season marks an intriguing chapter in his career. The former Grande Prairie Storm forward – who spent four seasons with the team and captured the 2008-2009 AJHL title – is entering the first year of a two-year, two-way contract with the New York Islanders organzation. It means he could play either in the NHL, AHL with the Bridgeport Sound Tigers, or in the ECHL with the Missouri Mavericks. If Fritz is sent back down from the NHL, he would not be required to clear waivers.
Where he starts the season and where he could potentially end it doesn’t bother Fritz, who registered 19 goals and 23 assists in 63 games for the Sound Tigers last season – his second season with the team. He also played four NHL pre-season games last season with the Islanders.